


Ai Seingeda Folau

by CaptainDaddy



Series: Seingeda? [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: 6x10, 6x11, Angst, Becholarke if you squint, Canon Compliant, Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Clecho if you squint, Echo centric, Flashbacks, Grief, Trigedasleng, sibling bonds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 16:14:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20011162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainDaddy/pseuds/CaptainDaddy
Summary: Echo grieves in the aftermath of Ryker’s betrayal. (There is a lot of Trigedasleng so I’ve made a glossary in the endnotes, rated mature for descriptions of violence.)





	Ai Seingeda Folau

I stepped forward, Russell Lightbourne in my sights and my family in my heart, just as I readied myself to release my arrow pain bloomed in the back of my skull; my heart ached far more than my head as I caught a glimpse of fire outside the window from my fallen position. No!

Raven.

Emori.

Murphy.

My _family_. 

_I’m so sorry, Bellamy. I failed. Again. I’ll join our family with Monty and Harper soon. Please, my love, stay alive._

A ringing had settled into my ears and it was deafeningly loud, my own heart thumping a painful beat into my ribs didn’t help either. The black at the edges of my vision swooped in and darkness claimed me.

.

.

.

I woke silently, keeping my breathing rhythmic and my eyes fluttering as if in sleep, I surveyed my surrounding environment. There were no footsteps, shuffling, breathing, or any other noise to indicate that I had the pleasure of another’s presence. I was tied to a chair, my hands and feet tingling from the too tight bonds. I chanced a tap of my foot on the ground, the noise was metallic and resounded off the walls. No one spoke to announce a presence.

I opened my eyes, I was alone in a small room with one window to my left - high above my head - and a door directly across from me. The floor was metal, just like the walls. It reminded me of the Ring and sadness filled me; a longing for those simple times overtaking me for a moment. I shook the feeling off. I needed to find a way out of here, needed to find my family’s pyres, needed to find Bellamy, there was too much to be done and no time to grieve. I tilted my head back to see behind me; there was a wall, inches away from me, bare of any windows and metal like the rest of the room. 

Footsteps sounded outside my door, a pause in the cadence indicated that someone had stopped before it. I heard voices, too muffled to make out any words but clear enough in distinction that I knew it was a man and a woman arguing in hissing faux whispers. The voices cut off and the door creaked open. I considered closing my eyes and feigning sleep but decided against it, too much anger coursed through my veins for the subterfuge to be effective; I want - _need_ answers.

The traitor Ryker’s entrance into my room shook me to my core. Delil- Priya stepping after him only spurred my anger on. Before either could speak I found myself doing something I’ve never done under interrogation before, I began screaming. Words ripped from my throat like bones from a carcass; like a sword through flesh. The sound startled even me but I didn’t let it stop me. 

“No good dirty nomajoka! I will tear you apart limb by useless limb, you monster! I will pluck your eyes from their sockets! I will rip that fucking drive from your neck and feed it to you! Yu nou laik skrish! Hofli oyo niron ge jak op kom friznes! Jus drein jus daun, gon ai seingeda!” I lunged forwards, the chair jerking with the movement as I threw myself desperately towards him. I was feral, unhinged. In this moment I understood Clarke in a way I never had before; respected her for how she protected her family the way I failed to do.

“Ai bro, ai sis. Ai seingeda,” I fell, limp, into the chair, my throat raw and my heart aching. The bonds holding me far too strong to break. “You let them die. Just like ai nomon en nontu.” Tears washed down my face, the tracks streaked down my chin and itched from the salt. 

My breathing came in uneven bursts as I fought through the agony of losing yet another family. I looked up, directly into Ryker’s stolen hazel eyes. “For the death of my family at your hand, may Azkripa pull your guts from your living body and devour them in front of your eyes before you drop cold.”

Those hazel eyes were wide, pupils dilated. Ryker’s mother stood behind him silently, her breathing far too even for my liking. Without a word the pair left. The door slammed behind them and I heard the tumble of locks being placed. Their footsteps faded into silence. 

Strangely, Clarke was my first comfort in the mockery of silence that followed, the quiet of the room did nothing to erase the endless loop of voices rocketing around my brain. Bellamy had to have saved her. She had to be free of Josephine by now. Clarke has felt this before. The overbearing loneliness and anguish. I wanted to get to her as much as I wanted to get to Bellamy. I needed one of those famous Clarke Griffin hugs that were so often spoken of on the Ring. Clarke would understand me. Would she accept me? Would she accept my past? Would she accept Ash? I liked to think she would.

My skull was throbbing. Painful pulses that beat in time with my heart. _“Save your strength, Strikon,”_ My father’s words parroted in my head. The ghost of his wisdom that followed me always. I’ll do as his spirit demands, as I’ve done countless times over the years since his passing. I dropped my head and closed my eyes, this is not the worst place I’ve slept, by far. I drifted into sleep.

.

.

.

“Kep yu yuj, Strikon! Krasha nou gon we,” _My father’s voice came first, the soothing baritone washing over me like the waves that came after. The weak northern sun shone brightly above us, glinting off the ocean in a beautiful cascade of light. The rocky beach beneath my feet crunched as I ran._

 _Stumbling to a stop I turned to grin at my father,_ “Noni, we’re supposed to be speaking Gonasleng. Nomi said so!”

“Aye, did she, Strikon?”

“Noni, strikon’s not Gonasleng!”

“No?” _He said, kneeling before me,_ “Well if you can call me Noni why can’t I call you strikon?”

“Because,” _I paused to think,_ “Noni is your name. Strikon is not ai name.”

“My, strikon is not my name.”

“Of course it’s not, Noni!”

_Noni chuckled, his brown eyes crinkling with a big smile. I reached out and twisted one of his dark braids in my small fingers. He grabbed my hand and gently pulled it from his hair. Eyes still crinkled, he spoke,_ “I guess your logic is good, Ash. But if I’m to call you ‘little one’ then you need to call me ‘father’ and not ‘noni’. That’s the rules, yes?”

“Yes, fath-er,” _I say, my lips moving over the new word strangely,_ “fa-ther, father, I don’t like this word.”

“You will get used to it. Warriors need to know the enemy.”

“Yes, father.”

.

.

.

 _I’m older now, and my father is placing a rock in my hand._ “This one,” he says, “is called blue lace agate.”

_I turn the smooth stone over in my hand, light glinting off the pale blue and white surface,_ “Does it have a name in Trigedasleng?” _often specific items, like types of rock, will simply be called ‘rock’ in Trigedasleng no matter the difference. Father and I used naming them as a tool to teach me Gonasleng._

“No,” _he keeps his eyes on me, waiting to see what I would come up with. I press my lips together and think hard._

“Azbouda,” _I say confidently._

_Father laughs, the sound rich and strong. His lips stretched wide in a smile that crinkles his eyes._

.

.

.

_Mother grabs my hand, pulling me towards the cellar with great urgency. Her eyes are wide, face pale and tight as she snatches her sword from it’s place on the wall as we pass. Father is reaching for the bow above the fireplace, his sword belted on and a quiver at his back. He takes Mother’s hand, setting the bow aside he twists his fingers in her golden hair, their eyes meet and I don’t understand why they both look so sad. Father looks to me, reaching to his belt he hands me his dagger without a word._

_The moment of stillness breaks and they both continue their tasks, Mother shoves me into the cellar. She slams the hatch shut behind her and turns to look at me. “_ If you cry, they’ll hear you,” _she says, the whites of her eyes glowing in the darkness._

_The quiet was oppressive, it hurt my ears. Occasionally the silence was broken by grunts or screams, those sounds hurt my ears worse. There was one final scream that sounded painfully like my father during our sparing. I stifle a sob. My mother’s face is shining with tears. She reaches for me and hugs me close, fingers trailing through my hair._

_Muffled voices and footsteps sound overhead for a while and I barely breath in fear of them hearing me. The smell of smoke hits me first. A huge amount of wood burning. It’s intense. Fire flairs behind Mother and she pulls away from me so quickly I stumble. As I fall she’s already ripping the cellar door open. “_ Quickly, go. GO ASH! The house is on fire!” 

_She’s covered in flames already as she hands me her sword. Her eyes beg me to leave, so I do. Choking back a sob, I stumble through the thick smoke. I trip over something on the floor; with a horrified scream I realize it’s my father’s blood soaked corpse. Raising to my feet, my mother’s sword gripped painfully tight in my hand, I run._

.

.

.

The squeak of the door opening wakes me, I do my best to stay in my sleeping rhythm, so used to my nightmare that I’m not phased. This time I’m ready when I hear Ryker’s voice, “She’s in here. Be careful, you know how dangerous she is. We can’t let her escape. Russell’s orders.”

The little _h_ _isa,_ I should have known he was planning to sell me out to Russell. I open my eyes to glare at him. He won’t look me in the eyes as he orders the guards to release me from my bonds. The guards are strong and yank me forward ruthlessly.

They take me to the castle and shove me to my knees in front of Russell. I barely listen as he prattles on about my ‘guilt’. The words wash over me, absorbing but unimportant. He killed my family, any plans he has for me are irrelevant. His death will not be merciful. 

Him giving me a chance to rat out Ryker is too easy. Ryker’s death is mine too. “ **No one,** ” I say, “ **it was just him. Too bad you can’t ask him who he told.** ”

“ **The man murdered a Prime.** ” Ryker pipes up. If I was him I’d shut my mouth. _Spichen branwoda._ Does he not know how to stay alive? I almost pity him for the death he will receive at my hand. His useless mouth says more useless stuff.

I roll my eyes, “ **That wasn’t murder. Simone Prime, hallowed be her name, will be back. The life taken to make that happen will be murder.** ” 

The door opens and I look up. Shock electrifies my body. _MURPHY!_ _Brother._ I fight to keep tears from welling into my eyes. He’s alive! 

Russell steps uncomfortably close to me, blocking my brother completely from my vision, “ **The life to make that happen, will be yours.** ”

I try not to let fear overtake me as Ryker and the guards are ordered to take me back to the machine shop to turn me into a natblida. I’m jerked roughly to my feet and dragged towards the door. Murphy is guided forward and our eyes meet.

_“_ **Osir na gyon au gon girgeda na lok op leja kom Beka! Ste kiken kom taim osir kom op! Nau gouba raun kom yu fleim ai klin!** _”_ My brother says. Thinking quickly, I lunge forward, screaming that he was a traitor. Joy fills my heart as the guards jerk me towards the machine shop. _Osir,_ he said _OSIR._ My sisters were somewhere, ALIVE, too. _Ste kiken. Ste kiken. STE KIKEN._ Oh, little brother, I will certainly do my best. Maybe Wonkru was right after all, ‘from the ashes we will rise’. _Kep yu yuj, stribro._ We may just survive this yet. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Translation Glossary:
> 
> Ai Seingeda Folau (My family‘s ashes)
> 
> -nomajoka! (Motherfucker)
> 
> Yu nou laik skrish! Hofli oyo niron ge jak op kom friznes! Jus drein jus daun, gon ai seingeda!” (You ain’t shit! May those you love be taken by the cold! Blood must have blood, for my family!)
> 
> Ai bro, ai sis. Ai seingeda. (My brother, my sisters. My family.)
> 
> -ai nomon en nontu. (My mom and dad)
> 
> Azkripa (The Ice-Demon)
> 
> Strikon (Little One)
> 
> Kep yu yuj, Strikon! Krasha nou gon we. (save your strength, little one! The ocean’s not going away.)
> 
> Noni (Dad)
> 
> Nomi (Mom)
> 
> Gonasleng (English)
> 
> Trigedasleng (Grounder conlang)
> 
> Azbouda (Ice-Rock)
> 
> Hisa (snake)
> 
> Spichen branwoda. (Goddamn fool.)
> 
> Natblida (nightblood)
> 
> Osir na gyon au gon girgeda na lok op leja kom Beka. Ste kiken kom taim osir kom op. Nau gouba raun kom yu fleim ai klin.  
> (We’re going to the machine shop to get Becca’s book. Stay alive until we get there. Now act like you hate me.)
> 
> Osir (we) 
> 
> Ste kiken. (Stay alive)
> 
> Kep yu yuj, stribro. (Save your strength, little brother.)
> 
> For official translations of the Trigedasleng dialogue from the show please see: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1348846


End file.
